Preseason Test: Kyle Busch visits with media

KYLE BUSCH , NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - Q&A'S WITH MEDIA:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR ANTICIPATION FOR SPEEDWEEKS

"I can't wait for everyone to get down here for Speedweeks and I'm very excited for everyone involved with the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet Monte Carlo. We're coming down to that time and the off-season was short lived but we're ready for what we need to be prepared for Rookie of the Year in 2005."

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2005?

"We've set a few goals this year. We want to go out there and be competitive every week. We struggled a little bit this year and they changed the rules a bit this year so we're going to have to go out there and learn. We're going to try to go out there and get a win or two and get our Top 5s and Top 10s that we need to stay within the Chase hunt if we possibly can and the Rookie of the Year award like Kasey Kahne did last year."

WHAT'S THE FEELING BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CREW THIS YEAR?

"It's been going well. I've been getting used to the guys at the shop and we've been getting seats in cars from my Busch car. We've been getting things all set for this year. Everything has been going along great and we're working well together. Hopefully we've got success ahead of us here."

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFF GORDON? HAS HE GIVEN YOU ANY ADVICE?

"Jeff Gordon has been an inspiration to me and also a great teacher. He was always my hero so to be able to race with him and be on the same team as him is a dream come true. To go out there to ask him questions and get feedback from him and be able to learn from a four-time NEXTEL Cup champion is a great experience. Also, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers and Terry Labonte have been great. It's been a great experience."

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM 2004?

"There are a few things we can carry into this year. I wasn't running with a team that ran full time. Basically, running with a full time team and hadn't run full time in a long time. We ran a few ARCA races and won a few races and we added a few Cup races last year. Running a full time team, we'll learn a basis from what we need to learn from the race tracks. As far as last year, I think we tried too hard on a few things. We're coming along but we've got a lot of work to do on learning the car, the crew and myself."

DID YOU RECEIVE ANY GOOD ROOKIE ADVICE?

"Brian Vickers told me something. I asked him how he was able to run in the Top 10 and Top 5 consistently. I wondered why I would come in and run a few races and not be able to do that. I couldn't come in and score a Top 5. I couldn't figure out how the other guys, who had been tired out from running all those races, would finish in the Top 5 and Top 10 but I couldn't. He told me that once you get in the routine of things it all clicks and you can do it. Hopefully it will work for me this year."

DID YOU GET A CHANCE TO SPEND TIME WITH THE NEXTEL CUP? WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU COULD WIN YOUR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP?

"It's definitely inspiring to have a brother who's a NEXTEL Cup champion and a NASCAR champion in general. It's been a dream of ours forever but now to be here and Kurt being a champion--it's very inspiring for me. Competition is so high right now. It would be great to say '06 would be our championship year but we'll in realistic terms and probably look in '08 or '09."

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR AGE AND YOUR BROTHER'S AGE IN COMING INTO RACING?

"He started at 15.5, I started at 13.5. He started in Cup at 21 years old and I'm 19. We're pretty similar; I was a few years younger, he was a few years more mature. It's definitely a bigger learning curve for me coming in this young as opposed to other guys who have come in from their late 20s like Dale Earnhardt. It's harder learning the cars but hopefully I'll piece everything together."

WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON YOUR BROTHER AND THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP?

"He went through a lot of pressure. He was eating, but not too well. He was sleeping, but not too well. A lot of other professional athletes, from baseball and basketball players, do that as well. It's difficult. It was gut wrenching for our family members. I didn't even watch the last race at Homestead and sat in the motor coach and waited for the end of it on TV. It is amazing how everything has escalated in our careers and hopefully I can learn from him in doing what I want to do in my career."

WHY DIDN'T YOU WATCH THE RACE?

"Good thing Homestead has a pond because I was outside fishing; I wasn't watching the race. It's a good. It's amazing how everything has escalated in our careers. Hopefully In the last few minutes I watched it on TV; it's a good thing I missed seeing his wheel fall off. By the end I was happy it was over. It's something that's so difficult because it was his to lose and everyone else's to win."

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE IN THE CUP SERIES AT YOUR AGE?

It's a tremendous opportunity for myself. Rick Hendrick has put me in the place to drive the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet. It's something that I never would have been able to dream of at 19 years old. I hope I do the best I can at it. There's probably a million other drivers out here that have the same shot as me. I'm going to try to do the best I can. This year hopefully we'll get a few top 10's and a few poles and maybe down the line we can score a championship for Hendrick Motorsports."

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